Marketing Trends: Eccentric seeks humanity - Marketing Week

Marketing Trends: Eccentric seeks humanity - Marketing Week:

Eccentric seeks humanity

29-Nov-07

Esure, the insurance brand famed for its quirky ads featuring Michael Winner, has shifted the emphasis of its marketing by signing up as the sponsor of ITV weather (MW last week).

It is a move designed to "humanise" the brand and distance itself from the cut-throat world of direct response advertising, in a sector where price comparison sites have changed the rules of the game.

The brainchild of Direct Line founder Peter Wood, esure was set up in 2001 and helped usher in a new era in the marketing of insurance companies. It 2005, Wood also launched Sheila's Wheels, another insurance brand noted for its unconventional ads.

The eccentric ads for both brands, created in house, polarised the marketing industry and set a trend among insurers.

However, the rise of price comparison sites over the past three years has led to a change in the way customers approach insurance products. No longer do they contact a single insurer, rather they compare several products on the Web and then choose.

This has made brand awareness key and is the main reason esure has seemingly abandoned its direct response campaign style and agreed to pay £10m to become the sponsor of the ITV weather bulletin - the UK's third biggest broadcast sponsorship deal.

Adrian Webb, head of corporate communications at esure, confirms that the brand's focus is shifting as customer behaviour changes. "We will possibly be using the idents to bring more humanity to the brand," he says.

Wood revolutionised the insurance market in the 1980s when he came up with the idea for Direct Line, the first telephone insurance brand, and its red telephone motif. "He effectively created the UK's first call centre and shook up a market in which there was no churn," adds Webb.

Wood hoped to repeat the feat, this time using the internet when he launched esure, and the brand grew quickly, attracting 1 million customers in just five years.

However, industry observers believe that while the brand has undoubtedly made a name for itself, it has confused the public.

Lucian Camp, chairman of agency CCHM:Ping, says: "There is a tug of war going on at the brand. On the one hand, there are professional marketers and agencies and, on the other, there is Peter, who has a more homespun and anarchic approach.

"Esure has become famous through its antics, but in terms of targeting a market and giving people reasons to prefer esure, I think it has wasted a lot of time and money on exhibitionism."

Camp believes that the decision to move into sponsorship shows that the balance of power has shifted at esure's headquarters. "I would have thought that this sponsorship represents a good tug on the rope by the marketers at esure."

Esure's launch campaign was created by Delaney Lund Knox Warren and used a blue giant character. However, Wood soon brought the account in house and a campaign, written and directed by its star, Michael Winner, was launched.

In 2005, esure decided to refocus, and in the same year launched spin-off brand Sheila's Wheels. Wood turned to advertising veteran Chris Wilkins, the brains behind the Smash Martians, and his art director partner Sian Vickers. Together they developed the Mister Mouse character and the Sheila's Wheels campaign.

Webb admits that when the Sheila's Wheels ads were first developed "a lot of people were extremely nervous".

But he adds: "Peter [Wood] said he did not care what the research said and that he wanted to go for it - and it has become the most extraordinary phenomenon."

However, not all the ads have won approval. One commentator describes the Mister Mouse character as "charmless and unpleasant", another says it can be filed alongside Shake'n'Vac and Ferrero Rocher ads in the "so bad it's good" category.

But the campaigns have spawned a host of imitators in the insurance sector. Camp says: "You could see where it was coming from and you could see them trying to own the online market, but it has been playing the direct response game - it is advertising with the sole aim of making the phone ring. They don't care if people like it or people engage with the brand, all they care about is whether the phone rings."

He believes such an approach grates with many in the industry: "A lot of us worry about things like building long-term brand equity and reputation, but it seems that they don't care. I think that although it knows its target market, the public doesn't. It hasn't displayed any consistency."

Another industry expert says: "Peter is at least partly responsible for the welter of insurance 'character ads' out there. All these characters are battling each other, but faced with the choice between esure and, say, the AA or More Than, who would you choose? Once you have developed a presence you have to go somewhere with it."

Esure's Webb says the challenge now for insurance companies is to develop a presence like "wallpaper".

"People are only in the market for insurance one day of the year," he explains. "The challenge is to maintain brand awareness 365 days a year, because every day you have a different market. Sponsorship gives us an ideal vehicle of being on mainstream TV every day of the year. By taking on one of the biggest sponsorship properties we can leapfrog the noxious influence of competing insurance ads."

Facts and figures

Esure

• Direct Line founder Peter Wood launched esure in July 2001. It now has 1,500 employees
• Its first marketing campaign, using a blue giant, was created by Delaney Lund Knox Warren. The brand then took its advertising in house and the Michael Winner ads, featuring the 'calm down dear' catchphrase, were launched in 2002
• Winner was replaced by a character called Mister Mouse in 2005 but returned in November 2006
• In 2005, esure launched the Sheila's Wheels brand aimed at women drivers

FTAdviser- Home - Zurich appoint Mike Quinton as managing director of retail and partnerships

FTAdviser- Home - Zurich appoint Mike Quinton as managing director of retail and partnerships: "Zurich has appointed Mike Quinton as managing director of retail and partnerships, effective 1 January, 2008. He will be responsible for driving profitable growth in both retail and partnerships, by broadening the distribution of Zurich’s products and underwriting capacity, and working closely with marketing, operations and claims, to ensure consistent implementation across all elements of the proposition in the UK. He will report to Guy Munnoch, CEO, UK general insurance and Theo Bouts, CEO, direct & partnership Europe and will be located in the UK. He joins from Royal Bank of Scotland, where he held a number of senior roles, including corporate partnerships director, managing director, Churchill Insurance and, most latterly, managing director, RBS Household and Life. Munnoch, said: 'Mike brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this role which will be invaluable in attracting new customer segments to our retail and partnerships business. We are delighted to have him on board.' Mike takes over from Mark Searles, Zurich's UK chief marketing officer, who has been overseeing the retail business since the beginning of the year. Searles will now focus on his marketing portfolio, supporting the UK and Europe. Adrian Saunders, who has acted as interim managing director for partnerships during 2007"

Tesco Home Insurance offers free Christmas cover

Tesco Home Insurance offers free Christmas cover: "Tesco Home Insurance offers free Christmas cover by Gill Montia Story link: Tesco Home Insurance offers free Christmas cover Tesco Home Insurance is offering customers extra cover over the Christmas period at no charge. The retailer is providing an additional 10% of contents cover from December 1st 2007 to January 15th 2008, and this can be combined with any other discounts relating to a specific policy. Allan Burns, head of Tesco Home Insurance, is concerned that many people may not be aware that the value of gifts stored in their homes means they are exceeding the limits of their regular contents insurance cover. Bradford & Bingley has also issued special advice in the run up to Christmas, and is warning consumers to protect their belongings, particularly if they are travelling abroad for their shopping. Whereas Abbey Home Insurance points out that around 2.9 million of the population begin shopping for Christmas presents in January, so that insurance policies with limited additional Christmas cover are ineffective. According to Apacs, the payments services body, UK consumers could spend a total of £53 billion during the Christmas season."

Zurich recruit Quinton to lead Retail and Partnerships

Zurich recruit Quinton to lead Retail and Partnerships: "Zurich recruit Quinton to lead Retail and Partnerships by Richard Kilner Story link: Zurich recruit Quinton to lead Retail and Partnerships Mike Quinton has been named by Zurich as their new managing director of Retail and Partnerships. He will take up the role from 1 January 2008. He will succeed Mark Searles, the firm’s chief marketing officer, who has supervised the retail business since 2007’s start. Searles has been credited with massive improvement in the retail business and will now focus upon his enlarged marketing role across the UK and Europe. Quinton leaves behind the Royal Bank of Scotland where he was employed in a range of senior positions, such as corporate partnerships director, RBS Household and Life and managing director of Churchill Insurance and managing director. Quinton’s responsibility will be to expand the business through widening the distribution both of Zurich’s products and its underwriting capacity. He will be required to collaborate closely with the marketing division to ensure a consistent approach by the business. In his new position Quinton be responsible to two men: Guy Munnoch and Theo Bouts. Munnoch is the firm’s chief executive officer for UK general insurance and Bouts holds the position of chief executive officer for direct & partnership Europe."

Coca-Cola's juicy new year launches - Talking Retail

Coca-Cola's juicy new year launches - Talking Retail: "Coca-Cola's juicy new year launches Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) will continue to push growth in the first quarter of 2008 with innovation in the flavoured carbonates and sports and energy categories, revealed Kieran Hemsworth, operations marketing director at CCE. Despite the unpredictable weather, Hemsworth says growth in the soft drinks sector year-to-date (ytd) is £100m, of which £31m has been growth from CCE. Hemsworth highlighted juice drinks as one to watch, with £22m value growth ytd, and said there is still further opportunity in this category. The CCE portfolio caters to the adult juice drinkers with Oasis and to children with Capri-Sun, but there is a “gap in the market” for teens, said Martin Sampson, CCE’s breakthrough development controller. Sampson said the launch of Fanta Still next month (January) will fill this gap, and also drive growth into flavoured carbonates, which has been suffering as consumers switch to squash and water. Fanta Still contains real fruit juice, no artificial colours or flavours and will be available in Orange Citrus and Orange Tropical, in 375ml PET bottles, 6-pack 375ml and 1.5-litre bottles. A £3.75m marketing campaign will include TV and press advertising, digital activity and sampling and Sampson estimates the brand will be worth £20m in its first year."

Pepsi to extend range with 'natural' Raw variant - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Pepsi to extend range with 'natural' Raw variant - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Pepsi to extend range with 'natural' Raw variant by Jemima Bokaie Marketing 20-Nov-07, 08:45 LONDON - Pepsi UK is adding the first variant to its iconic Pepsi range for more than 10 years in an attempt to steal share of the cola market from leader Coca-Cola. Pepsi Raw will be the third variant in the range since the launch of Pepsi Max in the UK in 1993. The new brand, which is made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup, claims to be a 'natural' cola. The brand is aimed at healthier cola drinkers, despite industry insiders' claims that being made with cane sugar, it will be less healthy than the sugar-free Pepsi Max. Pepsi is launching Raw into UK pubs and bars, including the All Bar One chain, early next year in a bid to attract a cult following for the brand in the on-trade. It will be introduced"

Aviva senior marketers lose jobs following review - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Aviva senior marketers lose jobs following review - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Aviva senior marketers lose jobs following review by Ed Kemp Marketing 20-Nov-07, 08:45 LONDON - Norwich Union has made a clean sweep of its senior marketing team as part of an internal review of its marketing structure. The insurance giant has decided to axe several board-level roles, including that of RAC marketing director Alastair Pegg. A spokeswoman for its parent company, Aviva, said Pegg, who had been in the role since 2005, would be seeking other opportunities within the group. She confirmed that Pat Mitch-ison, director of marketing for Norwich Union Insurance, and Chris Reid, director of propositions for Norwich Union and the RAC, had both left the company. Aviva has completed its board-level review and will look at its lower-level marketing structures over the next few weeks. Earlier this month, Norwich Union anno"

PruHealth partners with eBay - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

PruHealth partners with eBay - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "PruHealth partners with eBay by Hayley Pinkerfield Revolution UK 19-Nov-07, 11:40 LONDON - PruHealth, the private medical insurer, has partnered with eBay to reward customers for buying sports items from the online auction site. PruHealth customers who are already interested in buying sporty items will now be rewarded for doing so from eBay's ‘sporting goods' category. Meanwhile, eBay will promote PruHealth's private medical insurance (PMI) to its sport customers. ADVERTISEMENT <a href='http://display.hbpl.co.uk/accipiter/adclick/CID=00001978e8507b6600000000/AAMSZ=300x250/AD_POS=501/AD_POSITION=501/AD_LOCATION=C/SITE=BRANDREPUBLIC/AREA=BR.BULLETINS.DIGITAL.ARTICLE/ACC_RANDOM=5807208106/PAGEID=4249145621'> <img src='http://hbpl-images.adbureau.net/hbpl/BrandRepublic/Ogilvy/USBlair_brandrepublic_mpu.gif' alt='Alternate Ad Image Text Goes Here!' width='300' height='250' border='0'> </a> 'Partnering with such a well-known and visited web site means we have access to a wide customer base,' said Shaun Matisonn, chief executive of PruHealth. Pat Connolly, head of strategic partnerships, eBay, added: '...this partnership will encourage customers who are already focusing on health and sports to consider their health insurance and how they could be rewarded further for purchasing sporting goods.'"

E-Mail and Text Us, Consumers Say - eMarketer

E-Mail and Text Us, Consumers Say - eMarketer:

E-Mail and Text Us, Consumers Say

NOVEMBER 16, 2007

Just send something.

When US consumers say they are interested in a company, more than one-half of them are open to getting an interactive follow-up such as a personalized or generic e-mail, or text message, according to Vertis' "2007 Customer Focus Tech Savvy" study.

Vertis found that 40% of men 65 and older said that an interactive follow-up was acceptable, compared with 23% of female consumers that age.

"Adding an Internet component to direct mail campaigns targeting the older population may greatly increase the overall effectiveness of marketers’ spending," said Jim Litwin, vice president of market insights for Vertis, in a statement.

For many US retailers, the problem is that even when they have an e-mail sign-up program, many do not follow up with consumers. Two-thirds of personal care companies surveyed sent neither a welcoming e-mail nor a sales offer, according to the October 2006 E-Mail Data Source's “2006 Retail White Paper” report.

Even in the hardware industry, where only 16.67% of respondents sent no e-mail, that is 16.67% too much.

Such behavior might be seen as similar to unsolicited commercial e-mails, the “better” quality of spam. In both cases, the consumer gets confused and frustrated, and the whole e-mail marketing environment is degraded.

Even those respondents who sent only a welcome message in the first month—such as about 18% of apparel retailers and 14% of department stores—might be considered tardy if they fail to send the e-mail within a few days.

"Just as the CAN-SPAM Act makes it illegal for marketers to take longer than 10 business days to unsubscribe someone from their e-mail program, perhaps it is unwise (if not illegal) to take longer than 10 days to respond to a customer who has subscribed on a company site," said David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer.

Norwich Union completes DM review with WDMP hiring - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Norwich Union completes DM review with WDMP hiring - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Norwich Union completes DM review with WDMP hiring by Ed Kemp Marketing 16-Nov-07, 13:00 LONDON - Norwich Union has ended a review of its direct marketing agency arrangements with the appointment of WDMP. The agency will be responsible for creating below-the-line work for NU's insurance brands, which include motoring, life and home. Last month, Norwich Union hired Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel to its roster and decided to retain direct agency Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw for its NU Healthcare business. ADVERTISEMENT The Aviva-owned insurance giant called the direct marketing review amid major cost saving measures. Last month, Aviva confirmed that it will cut back its marketing department for its NU and RAC brands by 140 staff by the end of the year and reduce its marketing budget from £180m to around £100m (Marketing 3 October). It is likely that both agencies will be briefed to handle an increasing amount of online marketing for NU. In a statement earlier this year, NU said: 'With more business being done over the internet, this announcement is about making the best use of our marketing resources and focusing on those areas in which we are seeing most growth. Although we have reduced our marketing spend, we will continue to invest significantly in the"

Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster by Kate Nettleton Campaign 15-Nov-07, 11:40 LONDON - Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel has won a place on the direct marketing roster for Norwich Union. Craik Jones' appointment follows a competitive pitch against undisclosed agencies. The pitch was handled by the insurance company's in-house marketing team. Norwich Union, which is owned by Aviva, plans to award a further place to one other agency, and sources suggest it is in talks with Hicklin Slade & Partners and Archibald Ingall Stretton. ADVERTISEMENT Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw will also retain a place on the roster, handling Norwich Union's Healthcare insurance brand. Aviva started the pitch for its Norwich Union Life business in June. Then, in August, the pitch was expanded into a full-scale review of its DM arrangements across its entire range of brands, including Motoring Life and Home and Healthcare, as part of wide-ranging cost-cutting measures. This is the second reduction to Norwich Union's DM roster in the past 18 months. In May last year, the company scaled the roster down to TDA, Tri-Direct, Fox Murphy and Kitcatt Nohr."

Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Norwich Union adds Craik Jones to DM roster by Kate Nettleton Campaign 15-Nov-07, 11:40 LONDON - Craik Jones Watson Mitchell Voelkel has won a place on the direct marketing roster for Norwich Union. Craik Jones' appointment follows a competitive pitch against undisclosed agencies. The pitch was handled by the insurance company's in-house marketing team. Norwich Union, which is owned by Aviva, plans to award a further place to one other agency, and sources suggest it is in talks with Hicklin Slade & Partners and Archibald Ingall Stretton. ADVERTISEMENT Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw will also retain a place on the roster, handling Norwich Union's Healthcare insurance brand. Aviva started the pitch for its Norwich Union Life business in June. Then, in August, the pitch was expanded into a full-scale review of its DM arrangements across its entire range of brands, including Motoring Life and Home and Healthcare, as part of wide-ranging cost-cutting measures. This is the second reduction to Norwich Union's DM roster in the past 18 months. In May last year, the company scaled the roster down to TDA, Tri-Direct, Fox Murphy and Kitcatt Nohr."

IAB to endorse DMA email best practice - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

IAB to endorse DMA email best practice - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "IAB to endorse DMA email best practice by Alex Donohue Brand Republic 14-Nov-07, 14:40 LONDON - The Internet Advertising Bureau is to endorse the Direct Marketing Association's revised best practice guidelines for email marketing, which aim to raise standards of online marketing across the industry. The move follows the DMA's overhaul of its best practice guidelines in June this year, which it said would provide the industry with the most comprehensive advice available on how to improve delivery and maximise return on investment for email marketing campaigns. The IAB has now endorsed the guidelines, which the DMA said marked an important step toward establishing 'a consistent approach to email marketing standards'. Among the issues covered by the DMA's updated guidelines include collecting and managing data, creating and sending effective campaigns, and practical advice on how to ensure emails from businesses target the right inboxes and are read by recipients. Rupert Harrison, chair of the DMA email marketing council, said: 'The DMA best practice guidelines provide a valuable and up-to-date industry benchmark, ensuring marketers can take advantage of this cost-effective, measurable medium to engage their customers and build their brands.' Dan Redfearn, membership manager at the IAB, sa"

Insurance Age - NU’s full small package business now on imarket.

Insurance Age - NU’s full small package business now on imarket.: "NU’s full small package business now on imarket. The launch of residential property owners and pub & restaurant via the Acturis software house system takes Norwich Union’s (NU) integrated imarket products to five, along with tradesmen, shop, office and surgery. Transactions through imarket were boosted by the commercial insurer integrating its tradesmen, shop and office & surgery cover with the trading portal last year. NU is currently rolling out its latest product launches to SSP brokers (on a phased basis) and is set to follow up with further rollouts to Open GI and Insurecom. “Our product development on imarket is helping boost the growth in broker trading choice via the portal and reinforces its benefits as a valuable tool for saving administrative time and reducing processing costs,” said Simon Bloomfield, Norwich Union’s broker IT manager. “All of our small business products consist of a core packaged offering but have many additional optional covers providing the flexibility to tailor them to clients’ individual needs.” NU’s residential property owners product provides essential core covers for buildings (including subsidence), contents of communal areas, loss of rent and property owners liability. The insurer's pub and restaurant products,"

Insurance Age - NIG Network offers brokers a bite of the Apple

Insurance Age - NIG Network offers brokers a bite of the Apple: "NIG Network offers brokers a bite of the Apple Insurer NIG is giving brokers the chance to win over £2,000 worth of the latest must-have Apple products when they obtain a commercial package quote from the NIG Network (www.nignetwork.com). The latest draw was on the first day of November and the final draw will be on the 1 December when a lucky NIG Network Commercial Quote user will win the ultimate Apple experience: an iMac, Mac Book, iPod and Apple TV. The final mid-month prize draw on the 19 November will see four other brokers win an iPod classic or Apple TV (dependent on their choice). NIG’s Director of eCommerce Distribution Vivek Banga said, “NIG Network has proved to be very successful. This prize draw is designed to thank our supporting brokers for using it. We have already had ten lucky winners who have been delighted with the prizes, and we look forward to announcing the next ones very soon.” Brokers are automatically entered into the fortnightly free prize draws when they obtain a commercial package quote from www.nignetwork.com NIG Network comprises a range of package products including Business from home, hotel, commercial property owners, licensed trade, office, residential property owners, retailer and tradesmen. Brokers need a login id and password"

Coke Zero to drop 'bloke coke' advertising theme - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Coke Zero to drop 'bloke coke' advertising theme - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Coke Zero to drop 'bloke coke' advertising theme by Jemima Bokaie Marketing 06-Nov-07, 08:45 LONDON - Coca-Cola is rethinking its strategy for Coca-Cola Zero 16 months after its launch, shifting the focus from its target audience of young men to the product's benefits. A global TV campaign, created by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, will launch in January featuring the fresh positioning and a strapline to replace 'Great taste, zero sugar'. The change is a dramatic shift for the brand, which launched as a male-oriented brand while Diet Coke targets women. Girls Aloud singer and England football WAG Cheryl Tweedy fronted launch ads for Coke Zero last year. The work was created by VCCP, which handles its UK ad account. This year, Coca-Cola placed football at the centre of its spring activity, with work through VCCP featuring Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney. Separately, it is spending £9m on the launch of Fanta Still in February. It is also adding an orange flavour to its Powerade range and launching a juice variant of its Relentless energy drink. Comments Comment George Nimeh - 06/11/2007 Certainly is a shift ... In addition to VCCP's footy campaign, iris created an integrated campaign currently giving away 1 million football"

Insurance Age - The name of the game

Insurance Age - The name of the game:

The name of the game

Charles Earle has had a career spanning more than 30 years, working for both insurers and brokers in the UK and abroad. With the first anniversary of Arista approaching, Michelle Worvell speaks to him about strategy, finding the right talent and how he feels independent brokers are the ideal partners to work with

When Charles Earle, the former managing director of NIG Commercial Lines, launched Arista in January 2007 alongside former NIG colleague Lyn Carslake, its stated aim was clear. The new underwriting agency would focus on broker-administered commercial business in the UK, and arrange agencies with a limited panel of independent brokers.

With Arista approaching its first-year anniversary, Mr Earle ponders whether the start-up's strategy has stayed on track. "We have not changed the strategy in any major way," he says. "We are still firmly focused on independent regional brokers, with a start in the South to get our feet under the table and prove the model.

"We have been successful at hiring new staff and ensuring the technology is up and running. If anything has changed, it has been the fact that we have brought out one product before the other because demand has changed slightly. In addition, coping with a soft market has meant that the business has not expanded as fast as we thought it would based on our initial plans."

Despite this, the company has a number of advantages, including a lack of legacy systems, its small, flexible size and the ability to start with a clean slate. This means that Arista has been able to both deploy modern systems and to hand pick its staff.

Mr Earle elaborates: "Day-to-day, we compete with the likes of Norwich Union, Axa and Zurich, as they have most of the small to medium-sized enterprise market share we are after. This is where we have an advantage, as they are old organisations with legacy systems - we don't have that. Therefore, we can be much more efficient in how we deliver both our offerings and service."

He also states that Arista's aim is to speed up the response time to its broker partners, and to get documentation out faster in order to save them money. According to Mr Earle, this means that some of its brokers are saving the equivalent of between 3% to 4% commission. He also highlights the fact that there is no point in brokers cutting great commission deals with insurers, if they then chew it up in the expense of dealing with the errors and misunderstandings between them.

People business

When Arista first formed, many column inches were taken up regarding the amount of ex-NIG staff that initially joined the firm. As this industry is a self-confessed 'people business', the choice of staff in any firm is critical, but how much of a difference has this made to Arista?

"Being able to pick people for the job in hand is a huge advantage as far as I am concerned," explains Mr Earle. "And I am not just talking about the ex-NIG staff. Yes, there were initially five or size of us from NIG, but I very deliberately wanted to recruit people from other companies because it gives us a better view of the world.

"When I was at NIG, I would have been the last person to claim that everything we did was absolutely right. So bringing people from Axa and Zurich, and from Allianz and Royal & SunAlliance, gives us a large amount of diversity. In addition, if you bring in someone of high quality, then they also provide a link to other people of the same standard within that company, and you gain credibility by taking them on."

Mr Earle modestly claims that he is still surprised at the quality of the employees that have wanted to join Arista, especially as they are often coming from large companies that have a safe operating environment compared to Arista, which is a new company with no track record. He concedes, however, that although its staff have a real opportunity to make a difference, if they are not very good at their job then they will also be noticed due to its compact size.

Currently, Arista has 54 staff across three regional offices:

- Redhill - covering the South-east;

- Southampton - covering the South and Central;

- Bristol - covering the South-west and south Wales.

Arista also has a head office in London, and is currently in the process of establishing bases in Manchester and Birmingham.

"We measure how many leads we get in from brokers every day, and which brokers they have come from. Due to this, we know how many people we are going to need to support the business, and we can establish the conversion rates that are needed to work," Mr Earle explains. "We plan to add employees to the existing offices, as they have their own growth plans and will need more people to support these."

The next step for Arista is to establish a Northern office after its initial concentration in the south of the county. Mr Earle and his senior team have been spending a great deal of time in the area recently, conducting market research and gauging broker interest in the Midlands and the North-west. Through this research, they have established that there is sufficient demand to justify establishing operations in the North.

"At this stage, I am not sure what order we will run them in. We have spoken to a number of potential senior staff, and we are at the shortlist stage for both offices. I would like to start the ball rolling by the end of the year, but it will depend on the notice periods of the staff we take on. However, we hope to get one office up and running before Christmas.

"Even if these senior staff are on three-months notice, we will be able to recruit underwriters before then. However, we are not going to hire any underwriters until we know who the business leader is, because they will want to know who they will be working for. It will likely be three or four people underwriting a month or two before the regional manger arrives."

Planning ahead

Succession planning can be a tricky problem for many firms, but Arista seems to have all its ducks in a row after Mr Earle incorporated this scenario into his original business plan. In fact, he says that he will be disappointed if the current top mangers in the business are not trying to kick him out of the door in five years' time.

He explains: "I said to my shareholders that I could see five or six years of energy, as I was 55 when we started. I expect to find my successor within the main team, which arrived early on, or within the people that have been recruited at that level since.

"I wanted strong people in from the start who would want to fill this role, and I guess that my task over the next few years is to get the business built and then focus carefully on how we make the succession steps. Then again, I might get to the end of the five years and say, 'I am actually enjoying this'."

So, in Mr Earle's opinion, how do brokers currently view Arista? He says that the 100-plus brokers that it currently has signed up have reacted well, particularly to its people. "It is the experience we provide when dealing with customers that is the brand, rather than the name. The brokers that we deal with like the service we offer, and the people that they are dealing with.

"We are even being approached by brokers outside our current operational patches. In fact, we are already dealing with several that have said they want to deal remotely with us on the understanding that we will have a regional office and local service in their area later down the line."

Mr Earle stresses that the company does not want to deal with every broker in the UK, and is not going to respond to every approach because some brokers just do not trade the way it wants to. Neither is he interested in dealing with national brokers, or large, aggressive consolidators.

This is mainly due to the fact that he feels that if, for example, it wanted to trade with the latter, it would be at the back of the queue and would have to pay more commission than it is prepared to. Mr Earle adds that this stance means that Arista is in a position to take a step back, and make rational business decisions.

So, is there such a thing as a perfect 'Arista broker'? "It's hard to define an independent regional broker nowadays, isn't it? But when you meet one, you know that they are embedded in their local community or affinity business that they deal with," he explains. "They have a good technical grasp of what they are doing, and a willingness to listen to technical arguments from the other side - when we say 'no', to understand why we said 'no' but to still maintain the relationship."

He adds: "I would say that a perfect broker is one that often mirrors our model - they are determined to stay independent, perform well technically, willing to communicate and happy to trade. And there are plenty of them out there, enough to satisfy our appetite in the market, and there are new ones setting up as well. Just as Arista is a consequence of insurer consolidation, then the same scenario will apply to the broking market."

Mr Earle believes that brokers will continue to be a strong section of the insurance community, although he would like there to be more, rather than less. He concedes that there will be occasions where brokers that Arista are trading with will be acquired, and it will lose those businesses because they will be absorbed into a model that it is not happy trading with. However, at the end of the day, he believes the market is strong, and is an environment that Arista can confidently trade in.

"We want to trade through our offices with a maximum of 250 brokers and, as far as I am concerned, there are plenty around for us to do just that," he says.

CHARLES EARLE - BIOGRAPHY

- In a career spanning more than 30 years, Charles Earle has held insurance and risk management roles with both insurance companies and brokers.

- His previous positions include that of managing director of commercial lines at NIG, managing director at Windsor and Windsor Insurance Brokers, marine insurance director at Citicorp Insurance Brokers, and various underwriting and risk management roles in Hong Kong and Singapore for New Zealand Insurance.

- In 2007, Charles launched Arista, using a combination of local access to experienced underwriters and modern technology to provide a commercial property, liability and motor insurance service to a select panel of independent regional brokers.

Vizeum scoops £32m Coke media account - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Vizeum scoops £32m Coke media account - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Vizeum scoops £32m Coke media account Ian Darby Campaign 01-Nov-07, 15:32 LONDON - Coke has handed Vizeum its £32m centralised media planning and buying account Coca-Cola has consolidated its £32 million UK media planning and buying business into Vizeum. The agency won the business after a pitch against Universal McCann, Starcom and Naked Communications."